A five-point rise in client retention supposedly lifts profit by a quarter, though nobody says how they know.

Bain & Company's undated cost-cutting brief claims a small bump in client retention can lift profit by more than a quarter, though the study behind it, if one exists, has never surfaced; this includes practices like yours, assuming you'd like proof before you believe it.

Page updated: 13 Aug 2026

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Practices that treat retention as an afterthought might be leaving money on the table, though this particular figure asks for more trust than it has earned.

Original Research	Bain & Company's briefing on trimming costs, which uses a retention-to-profit example from financial services
Source	https://www.bain.com/insights/prescription-for-cutting-costs-bain-brief
Overview	A management consultancy brief about cost control uses a retention statistic to argue that keeping customers is cheaper than finding new ones.
Year	Not disclosed
Publisher	Brand, Bain & Company
Relevance to Wellbeing	The underlying logic, that retained clients are more profitable than new ones, applies to any practice with repeat clients, even though this particular figure was never built with that in mind.
Our Verdict	Too early to tell the number gets quoted everywhere but nobody, including Bain itself, says where it came from.
Our Summary	The general principle, that retention is cheaper than acquisition, holds up across most industries including wellbeing. The 25% profit figure has no named study, sample size, or methodology attached to it anywhere on the page. It comes from financial services, a sector with little in common with a therapy room or a training studio. Even without the exact number, the direction of the claim matches what most practice owners already suspect about repeat clients.
Our Geo View	Applies broadly to all countries.

Abstract of wellbeing niches and revenue flow

Recognise how this might impact your practice

Why this might matter to you

Coaching: this matters because a coach's income often rides on renewals, so any argument for prioritising existing clients over new leads is worth hearing, verified or not.
Therapy: this matters because therapeutic relationships depend on continuity, and that continuity apparently has a financial upside worth naming out loud.
Training: this matters because a trainer chasing new sign-ups every month might do better nudging existing clients to stay another term.
Alternative Healing: this matters because healers often undercharge and overextend to attract newcomers, when the regulars might be the better investment all along.
Clinical: this matters because clinics with long waiting lists still lose more to no-shows and drop-off than to a shortage of new referrals.
Retreat/Centre: this matters because a centre's returning guests cost far less to keep happy than a fresh batch found through advertising.

Where this came from

Bain & Company published a brief on cutting costs and used a retention statistic from financial services to make its point, without saying where the statistic itself came from.

Bain & Company, publish date not disclosed. The figure reads as an internal claim rather than a citation from a named survey or report.

Credibility flags: no methodology given, sample size not disclosed, publisher type is a consultancy brand rather than an academic or government body.

How we scored this

A relevance score out of 100, built from three things: how well it fits the six practice types, how recent it is, and how solid the methodology behind it is.

13%

Practice fit, 25How new, 10How solid, 0

Marked down heavily on how solid the method is, since no source or sample backs the number up, and marked down on practice fit too, since the example is drawn from financial services rather than wellbeing.

It's worth considering changes to your marketing practices

What this means for your marketing

Put a line about client loyalty on your website rather than a big flashy new-client offer.
Say plainly to existing clients that their continued business is noticed, before they wonder if it is.
Brief your team to treat renewal conversations as seriously as first consultations.
Hold off quoting the "25% profit" figure directly to clients or in ads, since it won't survive a follow-up question.
Track your own retention rate for six months before repeating anyone else's numbers as gospel.

Who this is most useful for

Practice type	Relevance	Recommended action
Coaching	Medium	Focus renewal conversations rather than new client funnels.
Therapy	Medium	Highlight continuity of care in client communications.
Training	Medium	Offer loyalty incentives instead of discounting new sign-ups.
Alternative Healing	Low	Note the principle, but don't lean on the figure itself.
Clinical	Low	Watch attendance and drop-off rather than chase referrals alone.
Retreat/Centre	Medium	Invest in returning-guest perks over acquisition ads.

Best before

Best before: revisit this one if Bain & Company ever publishes the study behind the number, or swap it for a properly sourced retention statistic sooner rather than later.

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